MAY is to be celebrated for its abundance of wonderful produce. Here are a few of my favourites:

CRAIG Wilson, award-winning chef and proprietor of Eat on the Green restaurant, will be entertaining the crowds in a Ready Steady Cook-style challenge at his Food & Fun Day in Udny Green tomorrow.

CHINESE food in Scotland is usually associated with fried rice and battered chicken balls, but an Aberdeen restaurant has turned that reputation on its head after scooping a national healthy eating award.

HERBS are a brilliant way to help bring food to life.

I REALLY hope it’s still sunny as you are reading this because, after a few days of glorious sunshine, I’m in a sparkling wine mood. There are so many styles of fizz out there, there is one for every occasion.

HOUSE. House. House. It may sound like a night at the bingo, and a successful one, to boot. Place Doll’s, Grill or Glass in front and you get the hat-trick of restaurants which form a cornerstone of the eating-out scene in St Andrews.

WHERE would our family be without pasta? When stuck for the simplest quick supper, I reach for a bag of pasta from my larder shelf and a bottle of passata – smooth liquid tomato puree (as opposed to tomato paste) – garlic and Parmesan.

THE variety and range of goat’s cheese is immense. Some are young and mild with a grainy or chalky texture; others are meltingly creamy with the most delicate flavour, while more mature versions are hard or waxy. These aged ones develop a dry crust with a much more powerful, distinctive flavour. Whole cheeses come in all shapes and sizes, from simple rounds and logs to complex geometric shapes.

ALFRESCO dining and stress-free salads are the perfect way to say hello to summer. Celebrate the start of the season by lifting your big salad bowl out of the cupboard and creating your own delicious recipes.

LAST week, I highlighted white wines from the South African tasting in Edinburgh. This week, it’s time for red wines to take the spotlight.

COOKING SECRETS

Serves one.

BUDDING chefs and foodies don’t have to go back to school to learn the basics of how to cook a delicious meal. In his latest book, TV celebrity chef Nick Nairn makes it look as easy as “ABC”, or in his words, “PTH”.

I WAS not sure what to expect as we descended below street level into the newly-opened Bollywood Tandoori. I did not realise I was about to be centre-stage.

ARRAN, Scotland’s most southerly island, situated off the west coast, is gaining a worldwide reputation for its fabulous food.

PURE BEAUTY

Serves four.